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Peter and Stiles met Anna at her apartment. She hadn't yet been to the den but Peter was saving that for the next full moon run. He wanted that to be a happy memory.
"This turned out nice," Stiles said, looking around the renovated space. It had originally been empty industrial space -- and what was it with wolves and industrial space, Stiles wondered, thinking of Derek's old living space. Stiles had put wards around the entire building as the renovations were being carried out. Anna had also set up apartments on the three lower floors that were currently empty. But she had turned the entire upper floor into one apartment for herself.
"It did turn out nice," Anna agreed. "I loved living with your dad but it feels good to have my own space."
After getting coffee and cake sorted out, they sat around the kitchen table.
"One of our people dug further into Ezekial Jones," Peter started. This was the Darach that had Anna's pack killed and he had tried to steal the Nemeton that was there. "He finally found an off-the-grid cabin that Jones had been using for his... activities. Jones had prepared for a lot of things, but not for a mundane Hunter to break in."
"When he brought in his magical partner, the partner was offended on behalf of Druids everywhere," Stiles laughed. "Jones had only basic protections and no other security about the place. He must have figured that whatever he was doing with the Nemeton would protect him from being found."
Anna shook her head. "What did he want?"
"Well, there were two parallel things going on," Peter said. "Jones left a diary... well, he had it hidden under some wards that our people broke through, that we've had copied. The original was tainted by his magic and not safe to handle. There's a lot of ranting about how unfair his life is and he's focused on your Pack. For some reason, which we may never know is real or not, he took offense at the existence of your Pack. He felt that the Pack lands and the Nemeton were part of an infernal region that needed to be cleansed."
"Whoa. I have no idea why anyone would think that but, as you say, we'll probably never know," Anna nodded.
"What we're still teasing out is references he made to 'benefactors' -- someone who would help him with money or information or other things," Peter went on. "So there may still be something going on that we don't know anything about."
"Oh!" Anna looked dismayed.
"Since Jones was unstable, I'd usually think that the benefactors didn't even exist, but there are some flags that make me think they are real. The cabin and the land might be inherited, but Jones is from outside the area which makes that highly unlikely. Your lawyers are trying to figure out the ownership of that property. Assuming the benefactors are real, unlike Jones, they are much smarter," Peter added. "Beyond some references to them in the diary, there's no physical or electronic trail to follow."
"That's... not good," Anna frowned.
"Meh. Depends on what they wanted," Stiles added. "If they were after the Nemeton and Jones was their front for that, there's no way they can get to the Nemeton. I've got that tied up and can hold on to it as long as needed."
"You said that being tied to two Nemetons wasn't necessarily a good thing," Anna recounted.
Stiles shrugged. "Now that it's been a couple of months, the connection has settled down and it's manageable. If it stays like this, I can hold on to both of them for a long time."
"Oh! Good! I wouldn't want it to be a problem for you! Especially after all you've done for me!" Anna breathed a sigh of relief.
"If they want something else, being on the west coast is probably the safest for you right now," Peter said. "I know you're not in a hurry to go back but you should be careful if you go outside of Beacon Hills."
Anna gave a small laugh. "Business as usual, then!"
"Pretty much," Stiles nodded.
"If you need to travel anywhere, do let us know and we'll get someone to go with you," Peter said. He held up a hand when she was about to protest. "It's security for you and for us."
"All right," Anna had to agree.
Stiles had another piece of cake before they left. It felt good to make something for the Alpha pair.
"We'll see you next Tuesday for the full moon?" Peter asked as they were leaving.
"Can't wait!" Anna replied cheerfully.